Page 45 of A Light in the Dark
“She’s got you there, Joel. She knows what she likes, and she likes soft and smooth silk.”
He sighed. “Just charge my card and laugh at me should I have to call the bank.”
The woman complied, and while she laughed, she said, “You don’t have to call the bank this time. I think they’ve finally learned you’ll spend a great deal of money whenever you come into this store. Just try to pay it off promptly. That is not an interest bill you want.”
“No kidding.”
FOURTEEN
I escaped into books and fiber.
With some helpfrom Yolana and the purchase of some specialty bobbins, she helped me kit my cross-stitch project and pack it into my new project holder. As promised, she tossed in a bunch of defective hanks, which she swore wasn’t high enough quality to sell due to a botched dye job.
Rather than the solid blue she’d been trying for, she’d gotten something reminiscent of puffy clouds on a cold day.
It wouldn’t stitch up evenly, and she couldn’t bear the thought of ruining so much silk trying to layer in more dye.
I bet the silk would become a beautiful throw blanket, and I decided her gift would come with me along with an extra crochet hook so I could begin work when I wasn’t stitching my waterfall and luna moth scene.
Joel waited with admirable patience, and I left the store with one bag containing a few skeins of yarn, my crochet hook, and the project binder. “We’ll go get steaks, head to where I grew up, and after we eat, we’ll go to the gardenstore. I texted my parents and asked them to fire the grill up. I’m to bring home everything we need for dinner, too, but they’ll wait to cook until we’re back from watching the moths.”
“That’s really nice of them.”
“They’ll catch a nap while we’re out, because they’re apparently old and tired and can’t keep up with little children anymore.”
I had doubts about that, but until I had more proof regarding Joel’s probable shapeshifting nature, I’d allow him to get away with the deception.
As far as deceptions went, his commentary amused me and hurt nobody.
Fortunately for my sanity, the butcher was down the street, and I refused to relinquish my new prizes, following after Joel. In some ways, I reminded myself of a hopeful puppy in search of attention. True to Yolana’s word, once Joel was outside of the store, he returned to being the dignified man I knew from Stonecreek.
I wondered who Shifters Two and Three were and why he had such a love affair with their silk. I could understand it, however. Rampaging on Five’s put me in the same category.
“Do you know who all the shifters are?” I asked when Joel stopped outside of the butcher, investigating the selection of meats on offer.
“I only know who One, Two, Three, and Twelve are, and I only know Yolana is One because I caught her in the act a few years back. Now she’s told everyone she’s One. She told you who her husband is because she sacrifices him to be the face of the mystery shifters all the time. Not even theshifters, outside of Two and Three, know which number is theirs. Yolana keeps it a secret.”
“Oh! So, let’s say the butcher is a luna moth shifter who does the silk thing, and he…” I peeked into the store to realize the butcher was a woman wearing a floral dress and blinked. “Pardon, she, goes into the store, she could end up buying her own silk and not know it?”
“That’s correct. I only know who Two and Three are because they gave permission for their identities to be revealed to me so I could buy their stuff. I campaigned for five years to get their number so I could buy their silk.”
That pointed in the general direction of Joel’s parents being the shifters responsible for his obsession. I had no idea if he had any siblings, but I could find out the secret to that soon enough. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I don’t. One child was more than my parents were prepared to handle, so they only had me. I told them they should thank me for sparing them from two of me. How about you?”
“I had a brother, but he died from a childhood illness,” I admitted. I’d been six when he’d passed, and I suspected I’d become the black sheep in town due to the trauma of his death. “And they weren’t backwater about treatments. Zac just didn’t get better even with the medication.”
“I’m sorry.”
I nodded. “I escaped into books and fiber.”
“I had noticed you were quite comfortable in the store of ultimate temptations.”
“I’m going to be laughed right out of work if my boss finds out I blew my entire bonus out on frivolous things.” I allowed myself a grin over the whole thing. “It was soliberating.That is the first time in my life that I had a bonus that was unexpected like that. It isn’t in my budget. I could spend it on whatever I wanted. I chose Shifter Five. Shifter Five isso soft. It’s a good thing she hides their identities. Now that I know that Shifter Five produces the ultimate silk, I might not be above stalking for a ready supply of silk.”
“Valerie, you already learned the secret to getting Shifter Five’s stuff. You put in special orders, and if she has a contract open with the shifter, she will prioritize your silk order. That’s why Two and Three are so hard to get; they were on special order foryears.”
“And you weren’t the one who had the order?”
